Former Florida State All-American Terrell Buckley made Matt Jones’ night on Friday.

After Hagerty finished its spring game against Sanford Seminole, Buckley, now an assistant coach at the University of Akron, pulled the sophomore cornerback/wide receiver aside.

“I walked passed and shook hands and he was talking to me about the game and then he said, ‘We want to officially offer you tonight.’ ”

Jones wasn’t quite sure how to react.

“When he said it, it didn’t really sink in and then after a couple of seconds I said, ‘Thank you,’ and then that’s all I could say,” Jones explained. “I was just overwhelmed.

“It just makes me want to work harder and get more offers because it shows me that hard work pays off.”

Jones, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound two-way player for Hagerty, started every game for the Huskies last season at corner. He had one interception on defense and caught one touchdown pass on offense.

Buckley noticed Jones on Friday night and liked what he saw well enough to make an offer to the rising junior.

“He said he liked my footwork and my size,” Jones said.

Jones can now settle in a focus on moving forward. A scholarship offer during his sophomore year lends credence to his thought that he can play college football.

“Now I feel better about it all because now I have a place where I can go and play football and get a good education and it’s a big relief,” Jones said.

His offer comes at the end of spring football, but it makes him want to get right back on the field.

“Off season starts now, so it’s time to start putting in work for the fall,” he said.

Teammate and quarterback Jason Driskel was also offered a scholarship by Akron last month, and that gave Jones a reason to get a bit more acquainted with the school, since he didn’t know a lot about it.

“I know Jason Driskel got one and after he got one I looked it up ,” Jones said. “I know it’s in Ohio and I know it’s a D-1 school … now it just gives me more confidence.”

Hagerty is going into its eighth year as a school this fall, and the Huskies have only had one playoff season so far.

“I just want to make it to the playoffs and show everybody that Hagerty is not the same school as we were before,” said Jones, who also said he likes new coach Phil Ziglar and his staff.